I am looking for a pistol I know existed in 2008. It once belonged to a relative and is engraved with "S.A. Fairchild". It would be a Civil War era collectable. I believe it to be in the Houston, Texas area. Is there a trade magazine people who collect guns frequently read I could put an ad in. Or, a better way of tracing it down. I am looking through family but the guy who owns it is not family and from what I can gather is afraid "family" might claim he has not right to it and take it by legal action.
Was this pistol stolen? Or taken from a family member with out authorization? How did it come to be in this person's possession? I would think if you or family were the rightful owners, then you should have reason to seek legal action unless it was sold to the current owner, or gifted to him. Need more details please!
The tricky part will be establishing that the family owned it and didn't sell it. A bill of sale produced will do both for proof of ownership (and also for the current holder.)
Largest Collectors Store I know of in TEXAS. Collectors Firearms Give them a call and also report it to the DPS.
I would say you are probably looking at an expensive legal uphill battle. If you can prove that the last owner in your family filed a report with police it was stolen, that still could be not an instant slam dunk win for you. In my home state if a legitimate pawn shop buy a stolen item, a number of factors come into play. Pawn shop required to see picture id and thumb print the seller. They then report all purchases weekly, often with pics to local police. If subsequent to this legal transaction you claim ownership of the item, you must pay pawn shop back what they paid in good faith for YOUR property. Consider how this will pyramid if the item changes hands a few more times. Without that first police report, you are pretty much shit out of luck. If you merely have knowledge that Uncle Jim had that particular heirloom and told you he would NEVER sell it and planned to see to it that you get it upon his death. Trust me that unless you lived with Uncle Jim 24/7 up til his death, and even then you would have a hard time proving he had not sold or given the gun away without you being aware of it. The fact that it once belonged to someone in your family does not give you automatic providence to prove it should be yours. If it wasn't,t presented to you preferably with living witnesses able to testify to that fact and you filing a police report of theft, it is all a major legal mess trying to prove right of ownership. Justice is blind. Sometimes right does not win. Sad fact. Good luck. Unfortunately I think you will need it.
Providence of the FireArm will be very important, if you intend to try and recover the FireArm.... If you can Prove by Documentation that the FireArm was possessed by a Family Member, and that it disappeared on or about a specific Date, then you got a chance... Getting it into the ATF Stolen Database would help tremendously, but that requires said Documentation.... Once it is in the Database it stays their FOREVER, UNTILL IT IS RECOVERED.... and anytime someone does a lookup, on it or similar Red Flags will come up and Horns will start honking...
Too bad you can't keep batfe's nose out of the tent. They are getting involved in WAY too many things that they have no business in.
The laws I know of about stolen property were developed long before BATF. A fool who thinks they are getting a deal on hot merchandise may soon find a hot poker in their wallet, and well so. Fla Laws,of which I am familiar with have been developed by groups that IMHO paid off lawmakers to gain others property while buying hot goods and make it legal without loosing their rear in the process. A man who knows they are buying hot goods is only supporting the thief until the thief finds time to raid that person's home.
Good luck in your search. You may need to pay the current owner full market value. If it's worth it to you, the price is right.
The man who last had it died in 2008 I found out tonight. I expect it has been sold or is in possession of one of his children. I don't know how he came into posession of it but he was not related. I feel sure it changed hands more than once since the 1890's. I would buy it if it were reasonable. I at least want to see it. Thank for the help. I'll post the results of my search.
